Ebola virus disease

Cause
EVD in humans is caused by four of five viruses of the genus Ebolavirus. The four
are Bundibugyo virus (BDBV), Sudan virus (SUDV), Ta Forest virus (TAFV) and one simply
called Ebola virus (EBOV, formerly Zaire Ebola virus).[26] EBOV, species Zaire ebolavirus, is the
most dangerous of the known EVD-causing viruses, and is responsible for the largest number of
outbreaks.[27] The fifth virus, Reston virus (RESTV), is not thought to cause disease in humans,
but has caused disease in other primates.[28][29] All five viruses are closely related
to marburgviruses
Precautions
People who care for those infected with Ebola should wear protective clothing including masks,
gloves, gowns and goggles.[88] The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend that the
protective gear leaves no skin exposed.[89] These measures are also recommended for those who
may handle objects contaminated by an infected person's body fluids. [90] In 2014, the CDC began
recommending that medical personnel receive training on the proper suit-up and removal
of personal protective equipment (PPE); in addition, a designated person, appropriately trained in
biosafety, should be watching each step of these procedures to ensure they are done correctly.
[89]

In Sierra Leone, the typical training period for the use of such safety equipment lasts

approximately 12 days.[91]

Rabies
Causes
An infected animal has the rabies virus in its saliva and can transmit it to a person through biting.
In rarer cases, an animal can spread the virus when its saliva comes in contact with a person's
mucous membranes (moist skin surfaces, like the mouth or inner eyelids) or broken skin such as a
cut, scratch, bruise, or open wound.
After a bite, the rabies virus can spread into surrounding muscle, then travel up nearby nerves to
the brain. Once the virus reaches the brain, the infection is fatal in almost all cases.

Prevention
If you suspect that your child has been bitten by a rabid animal, go to the emergency department
immediately. Any animal bites even those that don't involve rabies can lead to infections and
other medical problems. As a precaution, call your doctor any time your child has been bitten.

As rabies is a fatal disease, it is often best to start the series of shots until further information is
available.

A series of injections is given. The first is a rabies immune globulin that helps to prevent the virus
from infecting the individual. Part of thisimmunization is given near the animal bite.

Tuberculosis
The main cause of TB is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a small, aerobic, nonmotile bacillus.[11] The
high lipid content of this pathogen accounts for many of its unique clinical characteristics.
[21]
It divides every 16 to 20 hours, which is an extremely slow rate compared with other bacteria,
which usually divide in less than an hour.[22] Mycobacteria have an outer membranelipid bilayer.
[23]
If a Gram stain is performed, MTB either stains very weakly "Gram-positive" or does not retain
dye as a result of the high lipid and mycolic acid content of its cell wall.[24] MTB can withstand
weak disinfectants and survive in a dry statefor weeks. In nature, the bacterium can grow only
within the cells of a host organism, but M. tuberculosis can be cultured in the laboratory.
Precautions
Tuberculosis prevention and control efforts primarily rely on the vaccination of infants and the
detection and appropriate treatment of active cases.[9] The World Health Organization has
achieved some success with improved treatment regimens, and a small decrease in case
numbers.[9]
The only available vaccine as of 2011 is bacillus Calmette-Gurin (BCG).[71] In children it
decreases the risk of getting the infection by 20% and the risk of infection turning into disease by
nearly 60%.[72]
It is the most widely used vaccine worldwide, with more than 90% of all children
being vaccinated.[9] The immunity it induces decreases after about ten years.[9] As tuberculosis is
uncommon in most of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, BCG is administered
to only those people at high risk.[73][74][75] Part of the reasoning arguing against the use of the
vaccine is that it makes the tuberculin skin test falsely positive, so is of no use in screening.[75] A
number of new vaccines are currently in development

Hantavirus
HPS (HCPS) is a "rare respiratory illness associated with the inhalation of aerosolized rodent
excreta (urine and feces) contaminated by hantavirus particles."[1]
Human infections of hantaviruses have almost entirely been linked to human contact with rodent
excrement, but recent human-to-human transmission has been reported with the Andes virus in
South America

Precautions

There is no known antiviral treatment, but natural recovery from the virus is possible with
supportive treatment. Patients with suspected hantavirus are usually admitted to the hospital and
given oxygen and mechanical ventilation support to help them breathe during the acute
pulmonary stage.[15] As the virus can be transmitted by rodent saliva, excretia, and bites, control
of rats and mice in areas frequented by humans is key for disease prevention. General
prevention can be accomplished by disposing of rodent nests, sealing any cracks and holes in
homes where mice or rats could get in, setting up traps, laying down poisons or using natural
predators such as cats in the home.[15]
Leptospirosis causes similar symptoms and is also carried by rodent vectors, but it is due to a
bacterial spirochete rather than a virus. Presumptive treatment of leptospirosis
with penicillin (and other) antibiotics is often started for severe symptoms when a diagnostic
dilemma between the two diseases is encountered.

Pertussis
Pertussis is caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. It is an airborne disease which spreads
easily through the coughs and sneezes of an infected person.[6] People are infectious to others
from the start of symptoms until about three weeks into the coughing fits. Those treated
with antibiotics are no longer infectious after five days.[7] Diagnosis is by collecting a sample from
the back of the nose and throat. This sample can then be tested by either culture or
bypolymerase chain reaction

Precautions
The primary method of prevention for pertussis is vaccination. There is insufficient evidence to
determine the effectiveness of antibiotics in those who have been exposed but are without
symptoms.[18] Preventative antibiotics, however, are still frequently used in those who have been
exposed and are at high risk of severe disease (such as infants)
Pertussis vaccines are effective[19] and are recommended for routine use by the World Health
Organization[20] and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.[21]The vaccine saved over an
estimated half a million lives in 2002.[20]
The multi-component acellular pertussis vaccine is 7185% effective with greater effectiveness
for more severe strains.[19] Despite widespread vaccination, however, pertussis has persisted in
vaccinated populations and is today "one of the most common vaccine-preventable diseases in
Western countries".[22] The twenty-first century resurgences in pertussis infections are attributed
to a combination of waning immunity and bacterial mutations that elude vaccines.